Dear Journal,

I think Michael has been avoiding me. I haven't seen him all day! I bet he can read mines or he has some sort of machine that can tell what people are thinking and he KNOWS that I have a crush on him! How inconsiderate of him to just stay away from me like that. I mean, he should know that he's the first boy that I actually thought worthy of my company since Mark! Mark and Michael… the only two loves of my life so far. Is it just me, or do I happen to fall for guys whose names start with the letter M a lot?

"Hey, Quinn, what's up?"

Quinn slammed her journal shut and stared at Michael who was smiling at her. She felt her face redden. She wanted desperately to run away. She grabbed her bag and hopped out of the chair she had been sitting on and ran out of the student lounge, accidentally tripping over a plant. Quickly picking herself up again, she bolted out of there as fast as she could, feeling embarrassed.

Michael's smile slipped off of his face. Why did Quinn run out of here like that? Is she that embarrassed to me seen with me? Did I remember to use mouth wash this morning? Yes I think I did… oh no, what if my breath stinks? Maybe there's something on my face. Maybe I'm just too hideous to look at or… I don't know.

Michael sighed and started to leave the lounge when something caught his eye. Quinn had left her journal sitting on the table. He stared at it, not able to take his eyes off the leather purple cover of the book that probably contained all her secrets. He shook his head, telling himself not to look at it, that it was private property!

"Well… I should return it to her anyways," Michael said to himself. HE hesitantly picked up the journal and shoved it into his backpack. He wouldn't read it. Of course he wouldn't. He would just innocently give it back to Quinn and then be on his merry way. Yeah. That's what he would do.

"I have to go to class."

"No you aren't."

"What? Yeah I am, I'll be late…"

"You're not going."

"Are you suggesting I skip?"

Dana sighed heavily and crossed her arms. "It's not skipping," she snapped. "I've got the teacher's permission. I'm going to help you get healthy again and you know, if you're not healthy, you can't possibly go to class. So come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Just come on."

Logan followed Dana out of the school and continued to follow her as she walked quickly down the street. They walked in silence for a few minutes. Finally they reached the Coconut Tree House. She let Logan climb up the ladder into the tree house first and then followed quickly afterward.

"Dana, what are we doing here?"

"I've got to cover for Zoey while she's at the basketball camp," Dana explained, pulling the Coconut Tree House handbook out of her bag. "I've got a shift today for a couple of hours. You're going to help me get the orders to the hungry customers." She handed Logan the hand book. "Read this over, okay?"

"Wait," Logan said, tucking the handbook under one arm. "How am I going to get healthier by taking food to people?"

Dana rolled her eyes. "Do I have to explain everything to you?" She sighed and started to head to the back room. Logan followed. "The Coconut Tree House is a no smoking zone. At first I thought I'd just let you sit here and wait until my shift is over, but I figured that if you were preoccupied you would be less likely to take out a cigarette."

Logan's face fell. "Wait, so I'm not allowed to smoke for a whole two hours?"

"Five hours," Dana corrected.

"That's not fair!" Logan yelled.

"Yeah well," Dana shrugged her shoulders. "Life's not always fair."

Zoey had received the pants that morning. When she opened the package she had immediately put them on and wore them for the whole day. She missed Nicole and everyone and wearing the pants felt as if they were there with her. She was wearing them at this very moment as she held the orange basketball in her hands. She had just finished dinner with all the other campers. Everyone else had gone to their cabins to read or write in their journals before going to sleep. Zoey hadn't felt like being confined in a cabin, so she had grabbed a basketball and come out on to the court for some extra practice. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she was shivering and anxious to get into her bed.

Well, I'm out here anyways, so I might as well make the best of it. She started to dribble the ball and as she ran up and down the court, her heart started to beat faster and she wasn't so cold anymore. Her feet pounded against the ground and she had good control over the ball. It did as it was told and she was glad.

Just as she was about to shoot the ball into the net, a figure jumped out of the bushes, making her scream and skid to a stop. Chase laughed and ran over to Zoey, grinning from ear to ear. "Did I scare you?"

Zoey laughed and punched Chase in the arm. "Yeah you did! What are you dong out so late?" She dribbled the ball a little and then passed it to Chase. He caught it in and started to twirl it on one finger.

"Just thought I'd get some extra practice," he said. "What are you doing out so late?"

"Same as you," Zoey replied, smiling.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them. Chase cleared his throat. "So… you want to play some one on one?" He smiled and passed the ball to Zoey who caught it although she wasn't expecting it.

"Um… yeah sure… I'll try to go easy on you." She grinned.

They played for a long time. The clock ticked past their lights out time, but they continued playing. They didn't stop until late at night when the only source of light was the sparkling stars and the shining moon that hung in the sky. They both collapsed on the grass, laughing and fanning their faces with their hands.

"Good game," Chase said, out of breath.

Zoey nodded, laughing.

They both lay there, facing each other, under the stars. They were both thinking the same thing. This would be the most perfect time to confess. Chase cleared his throat just as Zoey started talking. Then when Chase started talking, Zoey cleared her throat.

"Oh… do you have something to say?" Chase said anxiously.

"Um… I don't know, do you?"

"Well… yeah.'

"Yeah, me too…"

"You go first."

"No, you can, I don't mind."

"No… well… okay… I…"

"I like you."

"What?"

Zoey's cheeks turned pink. "Nothing."

"No, really, what did you say?"

"I said… what were you going to say?"

"I was going to say I like you, but don't change the subject!"

"You- what?"

"I… I didn't just say that did I?"

"Um… I think you did."

"Oh… well… it's true."

"What I said was true too."

"What did you say?"

"I like you."

"So… I like you and you like me?"

"Yeah… I guess."

Chase laughed and so did Zoey. Then they kissed. Their first kiss was remarkable. They felt fireworks spark between them and the setting was just perfect. They both sat in the grass with their lips locked together, stars sprinkled in the sky… It was the moment they had been waiting for and they enjoyed every second of it.

Nicole walked down to the office, twiddling her thumbs. She had been called down to receive a phone call. She guessed it was her mother phoning the school to talk to her since she couldn't reach her through her cell phone. She took a deep breath. She knew she would have to answer this time. She couldn't keep running away.

She reached the office and pushed the door open. The secretary was typing something out on the computer. She merely gestured to the phone and Nicole walked over to it and picked up the receiver. In a shaky voice, she said, "Hello?"

"Hey, honey, it's me."

"Hi dad," Nicole said, sounding puzzled. "Um… why did you call?"

"I… understand that your mother came to visit you."

Nicole felt numb inside and out. "Yeah she did."

"She tried to call you many times, but she doesn't seem to be able to reach you on your cell phone. Is it broken? Would you like me to replace it?"

"No… it's just… I haven't been taking her calls on purpose."

"Oh… how come?"

"Because she's not telling me why she hates me!"

There was a pause. "She doesn't hate you, Nicole," Mr. Bristow finally said.

"Yes she does." Nicole felt her throat tighten.

"No… she loved you very much and-"

"Don't lie to me! I know she doesn't!"

"Nicole the reason she wasn't there to see you this summer was because she was in the hospital!"

"She- what?"

"She hadn't been feeling well for awhile so she went to go to the hospital because she wanted to be healthy when you came for your visit. The doctor told her she was diagnosed with cancer and she should stay in the hospital until things were better for her. She didn't want to tell you because she thought you might get worried and... Nicole?"

Nicole was stunned. No, she was more than that. She suddenly dropped the receiver and ran out of the office. She didn't know where she was going or what she was doing. She didn't know anything. She just ran. What else could she do?

She ran into the bathroom and locked herself in a stall. Then she collapsed on the ground and cried. She didn't try and stop her tears. She cried and cried and let the tears roll down her cheeks like a waterfall. Her face ached, her throat ached, but most of all, her heart ached. It was such a large ache that it was as if it would stay with her forever.